Top 20 Desktop Support Interview Questions and Answers

Welcome to Top 20 Desktop Support Interview Questions and Answers

All of the technical Questions vary in order from easy to the advanced difficulty level in order to provide breaks in between.

#1 Can you tell me about yourself?

Be very careful when answering this question because this is your first big chance to impress and you can do so by stating the facts related to this job.

Only talk about previous experience, education and formal training related to this field. It is important to understand that follow up questions may be related to anything you say at this point.

#2 you’ve received a trouble ticket that PC monitor is not working; what is the first thing you should do?

The first thing you should do is check to see if all the cables are plugged incorrectly. First, check power, then video signal cable and if both check out make sure that the computer itself is powered on. If asked for further troubleshooting steps, explain that there is a possibility that a video driver or PC hardware could be causing the issue.

#3 what is Safe Mode, how do you get to it, and what is it used for?

In order to reach Safe Mode, the computer must be restarted and by pressing the F8 key before the OS loads, you will arrive at the selection screen at which you will scroll up to select “Safe Mode”.

Safe Mode is used to troubleshoot driver issues, hardware issues and remove viruses or unwanted software.

#4 what is an IP address and how to find it?

An IP address is a number assigned to your computer to identify its existence/location on a network. Meaning that the DHCP server will assign a number to reach a computer connected to a network as part of identification.

You can find your IP address by opening a Command prompt Windows “CMD” and type in ipconfig/all.

Alternatively, you can look at network adapter properties.

#5 what is a Default Gateway?

You can see what the Default Gateway is by performing an ipconfig/all command through CMD.

Default Gateway serves as a path to reach other networks. For example, in order to reach the internet outside of your business or home; you need a gateway that will open the way for you.

Default Gateway in a business environment is typically a proxy server.

#6 what is Active Directory?

Active Directory is a feature of Windows Server OS and it contains User Accounts, Object/Host Names, Group Policies, and Domain Services. For example, Active Directory will have information about user login credentials. In addition, it can contain group policy that will apply different permissions to user accounts that belong to specific groups within the organization; within a domain.

#7 what is a Domain?

Leading in from the previous question; Domain is a group of computers and users connected to a network. A user will have Domain login access once their credentials are created/added to that specific Domain within Active Directory. In other words, your PC login will most likely be a Domain Login. As a side note, PC hostnames must be added to the same Domain, but the user can still login even if the computer is attached to another Domain; within the same network.

#8 You receive a trouble ticket that states: “My printer is not working properly, it prints out the weird patterns on the paper. Please assist.

 This issue is caused by a bad/wrong printer driver. The solution is to acquire and install a correct printer driver.

#9 What are some commonly used LAN Cables?

There 4 different types of LAN Cables: CAT5, CAT5 e, CAT6, and CAT6 a.

CAT5 speeds are up to 100mbps, CAT5 e up to 1000mbps, CAT6 up to 1000mbps certified gigabit, and CAT6 a up to 10,000 Mbps. All the speeds are based on 100meters maximum distance.

#10 What is the Blue Screen of Death (BSOD)?

BSOD is most commonly caused by bad hardware; the error appears as a blue screen crashing the computer. BSOD can be caused by hardware, software or driver issues, and conflicts. In order to troubleshoot BSOD you will need to run a full Hardware diagnostic on the PC and update all of the drivers.

#11 What is DHCP?

DHCP stands for Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol and it deals with handing of IP addresses for all computers connected to a network. Each computer is allowed to have a connection to the network or internet resources after DHCP Server assigns an IP address, dynamically. The dynamic type of IP address can change at any point.

#12 What is DNS?

DNS stands for Domain Name System and it reroutes known hostnames to IP address that hosts its service.

For example; DNS for example.com is located at 104.90.84.14, but it can change randomly. You could say that it serves as an address book for the hostnames, which are then translated into numbers (IP) in order for computers to understand it. In this example, it assigns and routes web address names to Webhosting services.

#13 What is a VPN?

A Virtual Private Network is commonly used as a secure way to connect from the remote locations to network resources in your business/company. For example; you can take your laptop to a coffee shop, start a VPN, and it securely connect to a PC at work, or access the company’s emails and files.

#14 What is a ping command and it’s used?

Generally, the ping command is used to determine whether your computer has access to external resources or the internet. Through command prompt (CMD) type ping example.com This function sends 4 packets of data that are sent back as an acknowledgment of successful connection. It also provides the latency results measured in milliseconds.

#15 What is a Group Policy?

Active Directory assigns a Group Policy to each new user added into the database. For example; if you work In Desktop Support, your user login credentials and permissions will be assigned to a Group Policy. In Active Directory you can take any user and place them into Group that has predetermined settings.

Group Policy can restrict read/write or execute and restrict access to network resources.

#16 What is a.PST file?

.PST is a file extension used by the MS Outlook archive file. An email archived would commonly know as a PST.

#17 How would you change folder permission?

You can change folder permissions through Group Policy but it can also be done at the local level with Administrator privileges. Under folder properties, select the Security tab and then Edit button, after which a pop up will provide and ability to add users and allow for reading, Write, Execute, or Full permissions.

#18 What is a difference between a Switch and a Hub?

There are a couple of main differences between Switch and a Hub. Hub can be used to connect multiple computers to a single network, while switch can be used to create multiple segments of the same network.

The second difference is that with a Hub all computers connected to it receive the data packets at once-

With can create latency issues. The switch can regulate this by only sending data packets to computer that requested it.

#19 how would you recover data from a Virus infected computer?

In order to successfully and safely recover data, you would extract the HD from the infected computer. Slave it to a second computer that has updated virus definitions, updated MS patches, and drivers. From there you would scan the drive for viruses and once the virus is removed you can extract data that needs to be recovered.

#20 Why should we hire you?

This is your last chance to sell yourself to this employer. Mention all of the qualifications related to this job. All of the works experience, all of the education/certificates that you may have. Don’t forget to smile, make eye contact and confidently explain why all of these things would make you a perfect candidate.